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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27110905">What Cat Dragged In</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictorium/pseuds/fictorium'>fictorium</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Enemies to Lovers, F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:48:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,801</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27110905</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictorium/pseuds/fictorium</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Forget Maxwell Lord. Forget Non. There’s only one supervillain in National City, and that’s Cat Grant, CEO of CatCo Worldwide. She’s the most powerful person in National City, and intends to keep it that way.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>For Kara, coming out as Supergirl is difficult enough, but how does she manage it working under the woman who instantly declares herself Supergirl’s nemesis?</em>
</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kara Danvers/Cat Grant</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>110</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>General Danvers &amp; Supercat Week 5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>What Cat Dragged In</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Forget about it,” Cat tells the morning meeting, to a quiet collective gasp. “I’m not kidding. I see one second of footage on CatCo News of this wannabe vigilante and the person who airs it is fired. Same goes for the Trib, CatCo magazine, and the websites. One word about this plane snatching glory-hunter and kiss your job security goodbye.”</p>
<p>Kara doesn’t know whether to be offended or relieved. On the one hand, it makes it a hell of a lot easier for saving Alex’s plane to be a one off. On the other, Kal got way more praise than this for his heroic actions. Cat Grant might be known as the Queen Bitch of All Media, but she’s usually more of a feminist than this. </p>
<p>Still, Kara watches from her desk outside Cat’s office as the media mogul places calls and gives interviews about anything under the sun in order to squash the flying woman story. Dressed in a sharp black pantsuit, her hair sleek and straight, eye makeup downright smoky, Cat certainly looks the part of the villain in Kara’s origin story. Just as well Kara has no further designs on being a hero. Solves the whole problem quite neatly. </p>
<p>* * * </p>
<p>Only of course there are more people to save, and Winn does go to the trouble of making a costume, so over Alex’s vehement objections Kara makes her first real forays as National City’s resident hero. </p>
<p>It’s not like she expects a title, and with Super<em>woman</em> there would always be the (ew!) implication (ew!) that she and Kal were husband (ew!) and wife. But the first time Kara sees that CatCo is debating whether to call her #SuperGirl or #TerribleGirl, it hits her like a punch to the gut. </p>
<p>And okay, maybe it’s a little reckless to save James’s job by kidnapping such a visible public figure, flying her town car off into the Hollywood Hills. Kara is already rethinking the plan by the time Cat clambers out of the backseat. The tiny gun is the last thing she expects, and Kara is still laughing at it when the damn thing fires a green-glowing net over her that soon has her pinned to the ground.</p>
<p>“Next time, have my assistant make a reservation,” Cat says, looming over her. An experimental kick to Kara’s bicep with those pointy stilettos confirms the Kryptonian weakness. “I’ll have to thank Lex for sending over some of his Superman accessories. Quite useful.”</p>
<p>“I only wanted to lodge a complaint about the use of Supergirl. It’s demeaning. It’s reducing a strong female leader to something less than she is. Than I am,” Kara says, eager to clarify. She painstakingly fought her way free of the net, but Cat seemed entirely unruffled. </p>
<p>“If you want a better name you’ll have to come in-house,” Cat replies. “Become official property of CatCo, bringing my message to the people of National City. Just like all my media outlets do. There’ll be some rebranding of course. Don’t want anyone saying that S is just a lazy ripoff from that buffoon in Metropolis.”</p>
<p>“It’s not an S.” Kara placed a protective hand on her breastplate. </p>
<p>“Oh please, spare me the--no doubt--heartwarming story about how where you come it’s a symbol of… sorry, did I fall asleep mid-sentence? Think about it, Supergirl. Branding. Come under the CatCo brand and we can make your vigilante act very lucrative indeed. Not to mention a little more fashionable. This primary color monstrosity is no way to live.”</p>
<p>“Hey! I mean, uh, I didn’t exactly choose to--”</p>
<p>“My offer stands until midnight Friday. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting about Max Lord’s tragic little do-gooder train project. The deluded fool actually thinks it will work this time, can you imagine?”</p>
<p>“Ms Grant!” Kara finally gets far enough from the netting to take off, but her flight is uneven, barely controlled as she hovers over Cat and her car. </p>
<p>“You can call me Cat, you know.” She folds her arms over her chest, defiant in her cream-colored trench coat.</p>
<p>“I won’t come work for you. I don’t want to be sold like a product. I’m my own person, just like my cousin.” Kara holds Cat’s gaze, determined not to falter.</p>
<p>“Your cousin, is he?”</p>
<p>Damn. Kara curses under her breath at the slip. How does Kal ever keep this secret identity stuff straight?</p>
<p>“My point stands,” Kara continues, hands on her hips now. Project confidence. It doesn’t matter if she actually feels it yet. </p>
<p>“Yes. Yes, it does. An interesting choice. One I believe you’ll come to regret, Supergirl.”</p>
<p>“We’ll see.” On that final note, Kara takes off into the night sky. She hears the shout of frustration moments later as Cat realises there’s no actual road to drive back down.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Friday morning Kara whizzes to her desk only to see Winn hiding under his. </p>
<p>“What’s up?” She asks, her voice barely a hiss in case Cat is on the warpath. </p>
<p>“Bad news. Cat just lost the Siegel Award for the first time in six years. That’s five straight wins!” Winn peers over the edge of his desk for a moment before taking cover again. “And it gets worse, guess who beat her?”</p>
<p>“Who?” Kara’s stomach plummets. Only one winner could provoke Cat enough to terrify her staff. </p>
<p>“Lois Lane.<em> The Planet</em> won the best periodical prize too. Cat is <em>fuh-yoo-ming</em>.”</p>
<p>The woman herself appears at her office door. She moves lightly enough that Kara doesn’t always hear her coming. </p>
<p>“Ms Grant! Do you need me to--”</p>
<p>“Cancel the jet to Metropolis. Obviously <em>that</em> won’t be needed. And get me two tickets for Maxwell’s little train party tonight. Laughing at his failure will be my new activity for the evening.” Cat glares at Winn, who’s easing himself back into his desk chair too slowly. </p>
<p>“Two tickets?” Kara repeats, hoping for clarification.</p>
<p>“Carter loves trains. Since I won’t be out of town, he’ll enjoy the tour. The inevitable failure of Max’s overgrown toy will be an important life lesson I can impart.”</p>
<p>“That feels a little mean,” Kara replies, but she soon shuts up when Cat’s glare turns on her. There’s definitely no point in mentioning that Carter is barely talking to his mother right now. “Right. Two tickets. On it.”</p>
<p>Cat goes back into her office, and only when she’s out of earshot does Winn actually dare to exhale. </p>
<p>“I would not want to be at that party tonight,” he says, wiping his brow. “It’s gonna be a bloodbath.”</p>
<p>“Me neither,” Kara says, but there’s a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach that she’s going to end up crossing paths with Cat one way or another.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Okay, Cat definitely interfered with <em>something</em> to make that train derail before it really got going. Whether on purpose or just getting lucky with a quick moment of vandalism, Kara’s at least satisfied that Cat’s fear after discovering Carter was on board has been punishment enough.</p>
<p>Damn. Trains are heavy. Even for a Kryptonian. If it wasn’t for her superior healing, Kara might really feel this one in the morning. </p>
<p>When everyone disperses from Lord Tech, there’s only one place Kara needs to go. She figures Supergirl could easily find out Cat’s home address, it isn’t compromising Kara’s identity to show up at the sprawling penthouse, all huge windows and exquisite pieces of art. </p>
<p>Cat is pouring herself a large glass of something when Kara lands on her balcony. A quick scan of the property confirms that Carter is already tucked up in bed, his heart rate at resting. </p>
<p>“Let me guess,” Cat says, opening the balcony door and stepping out. “It’s time for my midnight scolding? And yet I don’t see a whip or a paddle, so I assume you’ll be using a bare hand?” </p>
<p>“It’s one thing to have a reputation for being mean, Cat.” Kara takes a step closer, raising a finger in admonishment. “We both know how unfair it is, how much of it is rooted in misogyny and jealousy. But tonight you crossed a line. You put people in danger, and I don’t mean in the way you do with your gossipy tabloids. People could have died.”</p>
<p>Cat glares over her glass, bottom lip poutier than usual. For all the sulky defiance, Kara can see that she’s still shaken. It’s only confirmed when Cat glances over her shoulder in the direction of Carter’s room.</p>
<p>“All week,” Cat replies. “Hell, all month. Lord, Lord, Lord. As if the man can walk on water. Carter barely acknowledges all I’ve done, all the wonderful things in his life because of me, but I’m his enemy while Maxwell Lord can do no wrong. Tell me what’s fair about that.”</p>
<p>“Parents… kids… it’s complicated,” Kara says, aware of how useless it is. “I miss my own mother every day. I loved her so much, but I still have issues with things that she did, decisions she made. I spent most of my life thinking she was a hero, that she tried to save my home. Trust me, you don’t want to have grand illusions like that come crashing down. I hope Carter never has to go through it.”</p>
<p>“I don’t think he’ll ever think I’m a hero,” Cat replies. She sniffs so softly it’s barely audible even to Kara’s hearing. “But then look at my relationship with my mother. Maybe all that distance and disappointment is what makes a success like me. Did you know, she actually went to the Siegels tonight, in Metropolis? She couldn’t make it any of the years I won, but there she was at the top table tonight as Lois won instead.”</p>
<p>Kara considers the genuine hurt in Cat’s voice. She’s overheard enough of their phonecalls to know this is not Katherine Grant’s first cruelty enacted on her daughter. </p>
<p>“I don’t think how she treats you is any excuse. If anything, you should want to do better. Carter doesn’t need to become a billionaire, or as famous as you. What would you rather? That he gets his name on a building? Or that he comes and gives you a hug before bed every night?”</p>
<p>Cat doesn’t answer. The longing in her eyes does that for her. </p>
<p>“I hope I’ve misjudged you, Ms Grant. I know heroes are supposed to have a nemesis, and you’d be a worthy one. But it doesn’t have to be that way, if this train sabotage is a one-off.”</p>
<p>Cat sets her glass on the edge of the balcony, considering a moment before pushing it off. The glass hurtles to the ground thirty floors below at terminal velocity, until Kara swoops down and catches it. When she flies back up, Cat has gone inside. </p>
<p>As signs of a truce go, it isn’t exactly promising. </p>
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